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Strategy

‘Snowden’ Stuns Comic-Con With Unique Promo

Comic-Con has become a buffet of pop culture-themed ad specialties over the past several years as studios provide swag bags to spark interest for upcoming films and television shows.

This year’s San Diego Comic-Con was no different—attendees received Marvel baseball caps, Sharknado sunglasses, Son of Zorn foam swords, Mr. Robot masks and other promotional products.

It was a common household item, however, that stirred the most conversation. Oliver Stone’s Snowden, a drama about former National Security Agency employee Edward Snowden leaking classified documents to the press, offered Band-Aids to visitors. The black adhesive bandages featured either the film’s title or the film’s release date, September 16.

During the panel, Stone explained that the bandages were to be placed over the camera lens of your cell phone and laptop to prevent attempted surveillance from the NSA. The promo ties in with the film’s message of fading privacy and increasing government monitoring in the age of technology.

Based on Luke Harding’s The Snowden Files and Anatoly Kucherena’s Time of the Octopus, Snowden stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Zachary Quinto and Shailene Woodley.